The Jane Austen Book Club (Blu-Ray)

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All Rise...

Judge Christopher Kulik wanted to start a Jane Austen book club at DVD Verdict, but Chief Justice Michael Stailey did that years ago.

The Charge

What would Jane do?

Opening Statement

It's all too obvious that Karen Joy Fowler is a Jane Austen devotee;
according to the author, "Each of us has a private Austen." Many of
her novels and stories have a feminist or science fiction arc. However, it was
her 2004 book The Jane Austen Book Club which became a New York Times
bestseller. While it may seem to easy to dismiss it as a little "chick
lit" book, Fowler has managed to write characters that are witty, sharp,
and ironic…just like those found in Austen's books. Plus, the book moves
along at a smooth pace, complemented by flashbacks which flesh out the
characters, while at the same time gathering them together every month for six
months to discuss a different Jane Austen text. If you're an Austen fan, the
book is a must read.

As for myself, I have only read two Austen novels: Pride and
Prejudice and Northanger Abbey, both of which I did enjoy. To some
critics, it boggles the mind how Austen is loved in the 21st century. However,
the answer is simple: her views on love, marriage, and relationships can still
be identified by a contemporary audience, even though much of the author's work
was published almost 200 years ago. Plus, in case you haven't noticed yet,
adaptations of every single Austen book have come to cinemas for the past 15
years, including BBC versions, theatrical versions, and even modern-day updates,
such as Amy Heckerling's Clueless. In
2007, we had Becoming Jane, which
showcased a chapter of the author's life, and now we have on DVD and Blu-Ray the
adaptation of The Jane Austen Book Club, courtesy of Sony.

Facts of the Case

Five different women—each of whom are dealing with various down periods
in their lives—decide to form a book club dedicated to reading all six of
Jane Austen's novels: Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield
Park, Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, and
Persuasion.

One of the women, Jocelyn (Maria Bello, World Trade Center) meets a producer of
science fiction TV shows named Grigg Harris (Hugh Dancy, Evening), and
asks him to be the sixth member of the club. The creator—and eldest
member—of the group is Bernadette (Kathy Baker, Cold Mountain), who gets dibs on
hosting Pride and Prejudice. Sylvia Avila (Amy Brenneman, Judging
Amy) is now suffering through a divorce from her husband Daniel (Jimmy
Smits, Cane); her lesbian daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace, Lost) is
suffering from writer's block, and tries to remedy that through extreme sports.
Finally, we have Prudie (Emily Blunt, The
Devil Wears Prada), a high school French teacher who is married to a
sports-obsessed loser…and finds herself attracted to Trey (Kevin Zegers,
Dawn of the Dead), who just so
happens to be one of her students.

As they read Austen and meet every month, they soon discover that much of
the drama in their lives parallels the drama in the author's novels, and soon
they are able to think like the author to make their lives better.

The Evidence

I'm sure many readers of this review are sounding the "chick flick"
alarm, though I think that is rather unfair. Yes, I'm firmly aware that the
primary characters are women. Yes, I know this film was written and directed by
a woman. And, yes, yes, yes, I know this film is based on a novel written by a
woman who, in turn, is celebrating books written by a woman who lived in the
19th century. But, hey, so what? Let me put it this way: whether you are male or
female, it doesn't matter if you have never read Jane Austen; you can
still enjoy this film, even though it includes many standard romantic
comedy trappings. Screenwriter Robin Swicord (Little Women, Memoirs of a Geisha) makes an
impressive feature film debut and, naturally, she also wrote the script, which
is more faithful to Fowler's book than you might expect. She's fearless in
providing some of Fowler's more mature themes (i.e. lesbianism) and she
solidifies the reasoning why modern-day readers love Austen so much.

Most importantly, Swicord's irresistible ensemble cast provides endless
charm for the viewer. Veteran actress Kathy Baker is particularly memorable as
the club's inspiration and storyteller, and Hugh Dancy is immensely likable as
the sole male member. Nearly the entire cast is fine, though my favorite would
have to be Emily Blunt; her character goes through the biggest emotional
obstacles, and Blunt pulls it off beautifully, with those wide, innocent eyes
and layered, unpredictable personality. Like Ellen Page and Amy Adams, she is
one of those young actresses that she is quickly making a name for herself and
she will no doubt win an Oscar sometime in the future. You might also recognize
Nancy Travis (So I Married An Axe
Murderer) in a bit part as Dancy's older sister; Travis has been largely
absent from film since the mid-1990s, as she has been doing television work.

Now, I must confess that this was the first time that I've watched a film on
Blu-Ray and, needless to say, I was quite impressed. The 1080p high definition
transfer (with AVC MPEG -4 codec) is completely crystal clear, with vibrant
colors, well-toned blacks, and flawless flesh tones, adding up to perfect
clarity. The audio tracks, including Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround tracks in English
and French, have no complaints from me. Subtitles are available on seven
languages, and even special subtitles for the audio commentary are provided in
Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. All I'm saying is that if an HD
version of the film comes out, it will be hard to top this glorious package from
Sony.

Those who love the film should also love the extras which are included. The
best of the bunch is an audio commentary with writer-director Robin Swicord,
editor Maryann Brandon, co-producer Julie Lynn, and actors Hugh Dancy and Maggie
Grace. (Marc Blucas, who plays Blunt's onscreen husband, Dean, comes in later).
The commentary is very entertaining, with Dancy cracking some good jokes, Grace
talking about how she felt like she was on a set from Little House on the
Prairie, and Swicord talking about all the locations and costumes that were
employed. There is also a healthy selection of featurettes including an
18-minute behind-the-scenes segment, a 22-minute perspective on Jane Austen's
life, a 12-minute segment on how Swicord adapted Fowler's book, and also a
three-minute piece from the Los Angeles premiere. There are also seven deleted
scenes and previews for other Blu-Ray releases from Sony.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Purists will no doubt object to certain changes from Fowler's book, including
shifting of scenes and adjustments to character ages, though I didn't really
have a problem with those. However, I think the film does have one major flaw:
the uneven story. Swicord had taken some of the book's subplots and expanded
them for no compelling reason, thus making the character sketches slightly more
complicated than they have to be. Surprises are minimal, and some of the story
turns—like when Blunt makes a desperate request to her husband late in the
film—are a little difficult to buy. While I found it amusing that Swicord
implied the idea of using Austen's books like literary aphrodisiacs, it just
played too heavy a hand for me.

I mentioned earlier about the use of ironies in Fowler's book, which were
also translated to the screen. These ironies, such as Jocelyn acting like Emma,
and Grigg acting like Mr. Darcy, are ridiculously contrived and you will be able
to recognize them a mile away even if you have never picked up an Austen book. I
actually liked the idea of the parallels that these character's lives have with
characters in the book, though a little more subtlety could have helped. The use
of music and songs is acceptable though, sorry Ms. Swicord, but director Paul
Thomas Anderson (quick prayer for Best Director) used Aimee Mann's music much
more effectively in Magnolia. Last,
but not least: the talented Lynn Redgrave (Kinsey) is seriously wasted in the small role
of Blunt's insane mother.

Closing Statement

Even though the story and script aren't as strong as they could be, the
outstanding cast and director's devotion to the material more than compensates.
Once again, Sony deserves much credit for giving this non-box office hit a
stellar Blu-Ray package, with plenty of extra features and a superior
transfer.